Snakes alive! Shower-time is rudely interrupted by an unexpected guest

Last updated at 09:58 23 January 2008

A spider in the bathtub is enough to give most of us the shivers. Imagine Nasir Javed's shock when he glanced down during his morning shower and spotted a three-and-a-half-foot snake squirming at his feet.

The fast-food worker leapt out in double-quick time after spotting the snake uncoil itself and slither about in the cubicle.

The father of three, 29, bolted and locked the bathroom door before pelting down the stairs to alert his wife Yasmin, 30.

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The RSPCA were quickly summoned to remove the hissing reptile, which turned out to be a black and orange corn snake. They can grow up to six feet long - but thankfully for Mr Javed they are strictly non-venomous.

The creature was far from its natural habitat, the woods and rocky hillsides of the south-eastern United States.

Fast food worker Mr Javed, of Blackburn, Lancs, said: "It must have been somebody's pet. I couldn't believe it. You don't expect to see snakes in homes in this country.

"I thought Yasmin had put a toy snake in the bathroom as a prank, but then I saw the snake uncoil itself. I had to make a run for it."

The family believe it may have come up through the pipes.

Before the RSPCA arrived, Mr Javed kept a close eye on the reptile to make sure it did not slip away or scare his boys Mohammad Yousaf, two, Imaan, five, and Ramzy, seven.

Mr Javed's sister Saima Ashraf, 24, also of Blackburn, said: "My brother's mother-in-law had been in the bathroom just five minutes before, but she didn't see it.

"There was a leak in the bathroom and the floorboard have been lifted up so it could have come in through the pipes or the toilet.

"It was the biggest shock of our lives seeing a snake in the bath. You could hear it hissing."